1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of conversion of heavy hydrocarbon feeds to lighter hydrocarbon products. More particularly, this method provides for the addition of a terpene or a mixture of terpenes and fatty acid esters plus pine oil and a liquid catalyst, and the contacting of the heavy hydrocarbon feed with sonic vibrations, which convert the heavy hydrocarbon feed to a lighter hydrocarbon product.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the processing of crude oil and heavy crude oil fractions, it is often desirable to convert a heavy, viscous material to lighter, less viscous products to increase the usefulness and value of the products. The methods of converting heavy, viscous materials to lighter, less viscous products are generally known as "conversion" or "cracking" processes. These processes entail the breaking of hydrocarbon bonds in the generally larger molecules of the heavy crude oil to produce smaller, lighter molecules. There are many known conversion or cracking processes, including coking, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), and hydrotreating. These known and commonly used conversion processes suffer from the disadvantages of high facilities cost and high operating cost, as they usually operate at high temperature and/or high pressure.
The use of sonic and/or ultrasonic vibrations for the cracking of hydrocarbon bonds is also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,005 to Pelopsky discloses the use of sonic energy for the cracking of petroleum crude oil. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,375 to Inoue discloses the use of sonic or ultrasonic vibrations for treating crude oil to remove sulfur.
There exists a need for a method of converting heavy hydrocarbon feeds to lighter hydrocarbon products which operates at relatively low temperatures and low pressures, which requires minimal capital investment in equipment, and which operates with low cost.